Many thanks to Nick Watmough for providing his comprehensive analysis of this week’s photos and congratulations to Rupert Kirkwood on winning for the second week in a row.

If the week lacked some of the excitement of early spring our returning summer visitors continued to arrive and put on a good show whilst a few wintering species hung on. This time of transition is well reflected in the breadth of submissions to the sightings team. For example there were lots of photos of singing warblers – Steve Cox finally managed a decent image of the distant and long staying Marazion Savi’s Warbler and the same location clearly had a showy Cetti’s Warbler expertly caught by Alex McKechnie and Gerry Gillard. Marazion also provided Alex and Steve Cox also provided nice shots of Sedge Warbler.

Anyway, that’s enough Marazion! Down the road at Newlyn both Nigel Rogers and visiting gull expert Rich Bonser provided some instructional images of the returning adult Azorean (Yellow-legged) Gull. I also enjoyed Rebecca Bowyers study of a lingering Purple Sandpiper at Pendennis Point. From the other end of the county Paul Howrihane provided a nicely detailed photo of a late Red-necked Grebe in transitional plumage.

There was not a complete dearth of passage migrants. Waders were represented in the form of two lovely Whimbrel (Gerry Gillard), Common Sandpiper (Martin Webb) and Ruff (Simon Willson). Whilst on land Steve Wood photographed a stunning male Ring Ouzel on the Lizard and threw in a colourful Northern Wheatear for good measure.

In the end my contenders for POTW both happened to be seabirds. Jonathan Warner’s image of a Fulmar caught against a soft green background really shows off the underwing pattern of a species more often photographed against the sea. However, for me the standout image of the week was from paddling photographer Rupert Kirkwood whose eye level freeze frame image of a pair of Sandwich Terns making a food pass taken from his kayak is not only thoughtfully composed but perfectly exposed against a clean background.

A huge thanks once again to all the photographers and videographers who shared their work and help make this perhaps the best illustrated sightings page in the UK.